Shane Gibson Named to Lou Henson All-America Team

FARIFIELD, CT (March 29, 2012) - Sacred Heart's Shane Gibson (Killingly, CT) earned a spot on the 2012 Lou Henson All-America team. This year's team consists of 25 players and also included Northeast Conference Player of the Year Julian Boyd of LIU Brooklyn.

A first team All-NEC pick, Gibson became one of the top offensive forces in the NEC this season, leading the league in scoring at 22.0 points per game, a mark that has him ranked fourth nationally. He was even better in league play, where he put up 24.9 ppg, the highest scoring average by an NEC player in 13 years.

He posted a league-best 22 games of 20 or more points - the most by an NEC player since Saint Francis (PA)'s Darshan Luckey had 22 in 2002-03 - and tied for the conference lead with four 30+ point outings. His 41 points against Mount St. Mary's on January 28th is the NEC single-game season-high in 2011-12. In three years, Gibson has accumulated 1,453 points, and his 706 points in 2011-12 set a Sacred Heart Division I record and ranks eighth on the NEC all-time list. He is a finalist for the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year award and was tabbed on three occasions as the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week.

The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the top Mid-Major player in Division I college basketball. The award is named in honor of Lou Henson who retired after a spectacular coaching career that lasted 41 years. When he left the game in 2005 he was sixth all-time in career Division I wins with 779. He is the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State. He is one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four.

The winner of the 2012 Lou Henson Award will be announced on March 30 in New Orleans, site of the NCAA men's basketball championship. Butler's Matt Howard was the recipient of the 2011 award.